Dallas Stars Blog

Lehtonen to get eighth straight start Tuesday

Kari Lehtonen will be in goal Tuesday against Anaheim, his eighth straight start of the year. Andrew Raycroft has not played a game yet this year.

“We’re playing the hot goalie,” Crawford said of Lehtonen, who is 5-2-0 with a 2.38 GAA and .930 save percentage. “With the speed of the schedule and the complexity of the schedule in front of us, there is going to be lots of opportunity for (Raycroft) to contribute. But right now we’ve got the combination of Kari playing so well and our schedule not being taxing.”

Lehtonen said he is feeling good. He takes a lot of days off from practice, has an extended stretching routine and also is swimming on off days.

“I feel really good right now,” Lehtonen said. “I’m getting plenty of rest and to have a day off is a good thing. So far, so good.”

Crawford said he is encouraging Raycroft to work hard in practice and said that the time will come for the veteran backup goalie.

“I really liked Razor’s practice today,” Crawford said. “We’ve talked to him about making the practices like your game, and I was impressed with the fact he did that today. That’s tough to do.”

Lines look the same as Saturday. Krys Barch was hit in the hand with a puck Saturday and he might come out of the lineup in favor of Brian Sutherby. However, Crawford said he liked Barch’s practice on Monday and feels he still is an option for Tuesday. Crawford said he had not decided on whether Jeff Woywitka would stay in or whether Mark Fistric would return to the lineup.

Remember, the game is an 8 p.m. start on Tuesday. Versus has an exclusive window for US television rights for its featured game (Buffalo at Philadelphia), which starts at 6 p.m., so the Stars had to push their normal start time back 30 minutes.

In addition, the Stars have tried to move Saturday’s game against Buffalo to an afternoon start to avoid conflict with the Rangers, and they even got the blessing of KTXA 21 to change the television schedule. However, Buffalo plays Friday night in Atlanta, and the turnaround would be too quick. Not only would the Sabres protest, but it goes against the rules of the collective bargaining agreement as set by the NHL Players Association.

New player development consultant Gary Roberts was in Frisco today, touring the facilities, and should be in town until Friday to get acclimated to the organization.